Auberge – French without the Flare

Auberge is a French restaurant with locations throughout London and South-East England. The Auberge I’ve always eaten at is located in the City of London. I’ve been there a few times for eating and once for a Christmas party which got slightly out of control. Hmmm… Auberge is another City of London basement restaurant but it’s quite large by City standards with a bar and restaurant area covered in dark wood. It fancies itself as a French restaurant, and all the food has suitably French names on the menu such as Magret De Canard, and Salade Caeasar au Poulet to evoke that French feeling. The menu itself is pretty safe french fare with items such as lamb shanks, and salmon filet. There is an express lunch menu which is affordably priced and lists items such as a Croque Monsieur, Club Sandwich and Fish and Chips. All items on the Express menu are less than £10, and the mains are between £14 – £17. The wine menu offers a good selection with around 10 whites and 10 reds split roughly into light, medium and full bodied. There is a large selection of wines by the glass which is nice, as many people will just be coming in for a work lunch and won’t want to split a bottle.

I recently had the Fish and Chips which I was craving that day. I was presented with a massive portion of fish which was nicely battered and a good selection of chips (fries) to go with. I have also recently had the Loup de Mer which consists of a roasted sea bas fillet, roast potatoes, a fresh tomato and basil salad and a massive blob of chive crème fraiche. The fish was very well cooked, and the potatoes were absolutely lovely being slightly herby and salty but not too salty. The tomato salad on the side was nice, and the fresh tomatoes worked well with the rest of the dish. The amount crème fraiche provided was complete overkill, but I was still happy to have it to eat with my fish. The portion was large, and I was glad that we had only ordered a selection of olives and bread to start with.

Auberge is a good choice, but fairly uninspiring. It works well for work lunches because the food is fairly good, the service is OK and the décor is nice. However you get the idea that because of the constant flow of people eating there on company expenses they feel there is little need to innovate, or move beyond just good food. I can’t imagine having a very memorable meal here, and when you look at the price of the mains that is fairly disappointing. However, if you’re in a rut looking for another option for lunch this will probably do.

Food: Good but uninspiring French inspired fareDecor: Dark Wood. Suitably classy for a work lunch but not unbelievable.Price: The Express Lunch Menu is very affordable. The mains are slightly overpriced for what is delivered.Good For: When you can’t think of anywhere else to go for a work lunch.

Michelle Little

Writer & Photographer

Originally from the prairies and now in Montreal, I love exploring new places, eating great food and modern design. I'm mom of two wild things and paper and cake make me happy.
Photographing your cutie family would make me very happy.